Liverpool Legend Steven Gerrard Given First Premier League Manager’s Job at ‘Ambitious’ Aston Villa
12:08 GMT 11.11.2021 (Updated: 13:26 GMT 17.10.2022)
© AP Photo / Scott Heppell
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Steven Gerrard scored 120 goals in 504 games for Liverpool and won 114 England caps. He coached at Liverpool before joining Glasgow Rangers in the summer of 2018 and leading them to their first Scottish Premiership title for a decade.
Liverpool and England legend Steven Gerrard has been given his first English Premier League job - but it is with Aston Villa, rather than The Reds.
Gerrard, 41, had been tipped to take the job after Villa sacked Dean Smith at the weekend after five successive defeats.
He has spent the last three-and-a-half years in Scotland, where he transformed Rangers into the best team in the country and won their first Scottish Premiership title in May, after 10 years of domination by arch-rivals Celtic.
Welcome to Aston Villa, Steven Gerrard. pic.twitter.com/MF8n9CPaYW
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 11, 2021
Villa’s chief executive Christian Purslow used to work at Liverpool and his personal connection is believed to have been crucial to luring Gerrard to Birmingham.
Purslow said: “We are excited he has agreed to lead us in the next phase of our ambitious plans.''
Villa sold their star player, England midfielder Jack Grealish, to Manchester City for £100 million in the summer and have been unable to recover the form which led them to an 11th place finish in the Premier League last season.
They currently sit just two points above the relegation zone.
Gerrard’s first game will be at home to Brighton on 20 November but all eyes are on his return to Anfield, when Villa play Liverpool on 11 December.
Gerrard’s first game will be at home to Brighton on 20 November but all eyes are on his return to Anfield, when Villa play Liverpool on 11 December.
Several sporting pundits believe Gerrard has gone to Villa as a stepping stone to an eventual return to Liverpool, whose current manager Jurgen Klopp is tipped to leave in 2023.
But Gerrard sounded focused on the job in hand when he issued a statement in which he said: “Aston Villa is a club with a rich history and tradition in English football and I am immensely proud to become its new head coach. It was apparent how ambitious their plans are for the club and I am looking forward to helping them achieve their aims."
